Irish Australian
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| (7,000,000 (30% of the Australian population of partial Irish ancestry) 80,000 (by birth, 2011) 2,087,800 (self-declared Irish ancestry, 2011; 10.4% of the Australian population)) |
|
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth | |
| Languages | |
| Australian English, Irish | |
| Religion | |
| Roman Catholic, Protestantism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Irish people, Anglo-Celtic Australians, Scottish Australians, Welsh Australians, English Australians, Cornish Australians, Manx Australians |
Irish Australians (Irish: Gael-Astrálaigh) are an ethnic group of Australian citizens of Irish descent, which include immigrants from and descendants whose ancestry originates from the island of Ireland. Irish Australians have played a considerable part in the history of Australia. They came to Australia from the late eighteenth century on as convicts or settlers, and contributed largely to Australia's development in many different areas. From the late 19th century to the present about a third of the population in Australia is Irish.
There is no definitive figure of the total number of Australians with an Irish background. At the 2011 Australian census, 2,087,800 residents identified themselves as having Irish ancestry either alone or in combination with another ancestry. This nominated ancestry was third behind English and Australian in terms of the largest number of responses and represents 10.4% of the total population of Australia. However this figure does not include Australians with an Irish background who chose to nominate themselves as 'Australian' or other ancestries. The Australian embassy in Dublin states that up to 30% of the population claim some degree of Irish ancestry.
Around 40,000 Irish convicts were transported to Australia between 1791 and 1867, including some who had participated in the Irish Rebellion of 1798, the 1803 Rising of Robert Emmet and the Young Ireland skirmishes in 1848. Once in Australia, some were involved in the 1804 Castle Hill convict rebellion. Continual tension on Norfolk Island in the same year also led to an Irish revolt. Both risings were soon crushed. As late as the 1860s Fenian prisoners were being transported, particularly to Western Australia, where the Catalpa rescue of Irish radicals off Rockingham was a memorable episode.
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